Thursday, November 12, 2009

The Shibs Cometh

Blog-o-sphere has been a bit silent as of late... so let's make some noise.

I was going to set out to write a profound diatribe on the implications of putting civil rights to a public vote.... but then I thought.... We rocked it, so drop some words on the ol blog.

A quick summary of the events tonight.. which you should all tune in to:

1) We rock Christian Radio if you just hit your pedal the right way.

2) The Shibs are clickin... better than I think we actually have before. New music is blastin out like you wouldn't believe... well you will believe... cause your gonna hear/see it.

3) The end of Put Your Hair Back Up will never be the same... now that I have the slivers out of my hair. Which is not back up.

4) I, personally, love making music... and don't do enough of it. Even playing every day... I always want more.. Greedy Bastard I am.

5) Harks is tearin up the weisenborg these days... and I bet you can't spell weisenborg either.

6) You all should head out and catch us tomorrow night at Babes on the West Side. Should be a great time.

Well, I should get back to my photo editing and enjoying a drink before I try to get some sleep. The ol work day calls, then an Ultimate Frisbee game at lunch, then a gig, then Chicago, then a Photoshoot on Sunday... then maybe a couple hours to relax and enjoy some football, before I have to get back to the 8 to 5 on Monday.

Yeah... I'm bored these days.

Til next time... Enjoy the ride... I am.

Mouse

Friday, October 16, 2009

Lyrics and lyrics and more lyrics

Some people have been asking me for lyrics of our more recent songs...songs that aren't on To Each His Own.  So here you go...I'll get Ryan to post his soon.


Somersaults

Who are you guy doing somersaults all up in my room, who the hell are you
It means nothing it's got to mean something oh what's the use, these excuses are your truth

Turns out you were looking for something, turns out you got a whole lot of nothing

No need for complaining I saw it was raining oh coming down, but these drops won't hit the ground
Making my way out it is beyond doubt I'll be just fine, I'll even sign it on a dotted line

Turns out you were looking for something, turns out you got a whole lot of nothing
Turns out you were looking for something, turns out you got a whole lot of nothing

When the doors are all closed, and it's six in the morning, leave a light on for me
When there's nothing to say, and the tides have all changed, leave a light on for me

Coming back as a matter of fact oh you do it well, everyone's got a story to tell
I can't believe it I should've seen it staring right at me, it's my turn to disagree

Turns out you were looking for something, turns out you got a whole lot of nothing
Turns out you were looking for something, turns out you got a whole lot of nothing

When the doors are all closed, and it's six in the morning, leave a light on for me
When there's nothing to say, and the tides have all changed, leave a light on for me

Who are you guy doing somersaults all up in my room, who the hell are you

Down the Drain

You can keep your culture, just keep it to yourself
But you're just as two faced, as two faced as everyone else
Fixing all their problems, neglecting the one's you have inside
Never wanna face it, time to hit the bottle and hide

Now watch it as it's going down, oh now don't you make a sound, feel the room spin round and round
Tell them your book is clean, don't you tell them anything, to make them all think differently

You can keep your culture, just keep it yourself
Living day by day, in the shadows of somebody else
Poor man on the corner, reach in your pocket for some change
Toss him just a nickel, and watch it fall down the drain

Now watch it as it's going down, oh now don't you make a sound, heads and tails go round and round
Tell them your intentions were clean, don't you tell them anything, to make them all think differently

You can keep your culture, just keep it to yourself
You can keep you culture, just keep it to yourself

Now watch it as it's going down, oh now don't you make a sound, feel the room spin round and round
Tell them your book is clean, don't you tell them anything, to make them all think differently
Now watch it as it's going down, oh now don't you make a sound, heads and tails go round and round
Tell them your intentions were clean, don't you tell them anything, to make them all think differently

Steady Hands

And the soft embrace of a new handshake, I like it too, steady hands

You know what the deal is, I can tell by the look in your eyes
The falling traps are gone no appealing, don't you act like you're so surprised

And you'll see the writing on the walls, have some kind words for you
Blank stare, standing tall, steady hands, a brief calmness ensues

Time to show you the picture, as the tears roll down your face
Pleaing and asking for forgiveness, hope this all puts you in your place

And you'll hear the the words from my mouth, have some kind words for you
Looking down, hunched over, shaky hands, it's all starting to show through


And the soft embrace of a new handshake, I like it too, steady hands

And you'll see the writing on the walls, have some kind words for you
Blank stare, standing tall, steady hands, a brief calmness ensues
And you'll hear the the words from my mouth, have some kind words for you
Looking down, hunched over, shaky hands, it's all starting to show through

That's all for now...hope you like them!

Monday, August 24, 2009

Thanks be to Shibs

Holla y'all.....

So yep... that just happened... again.

Like Andy... been a while since I blogged. Here is the science all short and sweet with flowery language all withheld.

Notes from the Adams Reception:

Colin can rock (duh)... Subatomic rock.... and can rock with another drummer....

"DUDE... you fu*kers sound just like Always Sunny" -- bartender at the reception

"People were asking if that was really a wedding reception because the party was so cool it didn't seem like they just got married"

12 people on stage... no one knowing the song, where it was to go... but in the end... we all put the load back on me (reference to The Weight by The Band which was played). I hoped to take a rock band, a folk/indy/punk/shibs band, a heavy rock band all of which could play outside of themselves, put them in a place where we could play without bounds and see what came out. I think it worked. And if your down, I'm down... and want to do it again.

Random dude wedding crashing, helped himself to cake...smoked a bud on the dance floor, and left....

15 minute Black Majik Woman with THE Jon French.

Freedom and Oceanview descending to Jam land with Brian Moll Ripping it up.

Sympathy for the Devil being learned and resulting in a 20 minute jam.

Can't you see -> Day man -> Smoke 2 Joints -> Mouse freestyle rap ->band solos (matt included) -> Can't you see

Stormy Monday being played in the wrong Key... But thanks to learning minors, the blond guy made it happen with only 2 people hearing the difference.

and in the end... when it's all over... I'm blessed with a wife that believes in me, believes in The Shibs and is in the same level of amazement over how talented you guys are.

So, before I retire tonight... I have to say, that I have about 10 more points that I can drop, but need some sleep. I do know though that it as been really tough for your resident geek harp player to miss a couple of gigs. I can say additionally, that this band, and the people that were at the reception this weekend... are my true family. Although I may miss a party or two... it doesn't mean that I wanted to be somewhere else... only that I had no choice but to be somewhere else.

Thank you guys for rockin out last night. It's been a wild ride.... and I'm sure there's more to come... I'll make it up to you guys for sure...

I'm out like a vinyl jacket....

Mouse

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Butter...NUTS

Oh hello. Blogging for the first time in ages. Felt obligated to after the events that took place on Friday, Aug. 14th in a little place called Butternut, Wisconsin. First things first, about 5 minutes before we got to The Butternut KK (Kountry Klub), I was telling the guys a story of how my mom didn't know one of my good friends' (Koontz) first name. She guessed Roger of all names, which I thought was hilarious. Why Roger? The youngest guy I can think of named Roger is Roger Clemens the baseball player, and he's over 40 now. Anyways, she went with Roger. So we pull up to the place and what is the owner's name...you guessed it...Roger. Pretty funny stuff...probably a lame story retold as I just did...guess you just had to be there.

That said, a lot of the stories and anecdotes that we share are much better when experienced in person. I don't know how many times I've heard Colin say..."I wish someone else was here right to see this cause nobody's gonna believe it."

Back to Butternut. We are informed that we will be playing outside underneath a tent, and that the cabin that we are supposed to stay in is rented out, so the place got us a room "down the street" at the Park Falls Motel. The lady handed us our room key, which was an actual key. No key card, and actual real life key. Rule #1...never stay in a motel/hotel/resort that still uses an actual key to open a room. We decided to go "down the street" (which is actually like 5 minutes away) to the motel to settle in, but went the wrong way, then plugged "Park Falls Motel" into the GPS, and eventually found it. What a gem of a place. Reminded me of a Vegas Casino...Nope no it didn't.

First thing we notice is a sign in the bathroom that says something like..."Hunters...please don't clean your birds in the sink. If you need to clean your birds, I will bring you a bucket of water." -Sandy. Apparently they are having septic issues because people are cleaning their birds in the sink...check please. We fill up the fridge with beer and head back to Butternut.

The show...first set...weird. Good news, free pitches for the band and $1 shots. Rule #2...if you are in a weird place for the first time...just get drunk. Second set...better...but really buggy. Like thousands of gnats and mosquitoes...no lie. The people from Alaska were digging us, and the Sun Prairie folks were real real nice. After the show, we all realize that we are hungry. We ask about food in the area...they laugh at us. The owner cooked us a pizza which was delicious and lifesaving to say the least.

We got back to the motel around 1am???, played some Zoom Schwarts...a game JB introduced to us years ago. After multiple rounds, Colin volunteers and agrees to run around the parking lot in a circle while we (myself, JB, and Ryan) try to hit him with rocks. Only rule was no head shots. We hit him a couple times, and I believe it was Ryan who threw one after Colin said stop and hit him in the head. He was alright though.

I had no idea what time it was now, but it was time for bed. We signed the guestbook, and went to the room. I leave you with our entries:

Great Bar-The Sharp & Harkins Band (written by JB)
*Note: We never went into the motel bar, it wasn't open

Good bar, wish I could've seen it open (or something like that, it wasn't english though)-C Stache McGraf (Colin)

Dear Sandy,
Oh herro. I like what you've done with the place. It reminds me of a Vegas Casino.
Love, Ryan Harkins (written by me)

A normal Friday night!

Andy

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

To all my fans

What's up everyone? Thought I'd come on and post something for all of my fans...haha...jk. Just got back into town, and of course it is cold and rainy. I think it's safe to say that this tour didn't exactly live up to our expectations. The highlights: Eddie's Attic Open Mic and the Savannah late night jam session with some folks from Virginia Tech. On that note, if those people somehow someway stumble upon this blog, please send us the video from the jam...that would be cool to see. I was under the weather for most of this tour, which was not fun. I slept a lot...even more than usual. However, I am feeling much better now.

Learned a couple of things on this tour.
1. Contrary to popular belief, I can and did rock a flannel for much of the tour.
2. Somersaults, the newest song I wrote, is legit.
3. Mike can drive for 9 hours straight no problem.
4. Having two cartons of smokes at your disposal makes you smoke even more than normal.
5. Watch your back, especially if you are a dude, if you ever go to Greenville, Alabama.

That's about it. Keep these things in mind...and we'll all be alright.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

For those who want a taste....






Sommersalt :)  Andy's new song, performed live, at the acoustic shoot out... Eddie's Attic.


Forgive the Rain... in the finals.... Acoustic.

Enjoy y'all...




A down day.. but some photos eh?





So... just hangin tonight.  We rocked in Atlanta today.  Just typing that is kewl... but then again it was in a park promoting our show.  Found out that Bobby Rush, a legend harp player is playing the same place.  WOW.  J-Bah and the guys said that I sound better, mainly cause I'm adapt better.  Regardless... I'm a Shib.  and damn farking proud of it ...  and will be.  These guys have no idea what their music does to peeps... their writing and music rocks.  And for whateva reason I'm on this ride.. I host a toast.  

heres some shots y'all...